1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to communication systems and, more particularly, to data communication systems operating at millimeter-scale wavelengths.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are several prominent commercial applications for data communication systems at millimeter-wave (mmWave) frequencies (i.e. frequencies having a corresponding wavelength on the order of millimeters). For example, the 7 GHz Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) band, which operates at a frequency of 60 GHz, is useful for multi-gigabit per second Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs) that consider both home and office applications. Another example is outdoor building-to-building links and Metropolitan Area Networks (MPAN) using E-band (71 to 76 GHz and 81 to 86 GHz). mmWave energy is highly directional and it can be easily absorbed by common objects (e.g. furniture, monitors, human bodies, etc.). For these reasons, the ability to establish non-line-of-sight (NLOS) links is helpful for practical mmWave communication systems.